Getting rid of Coronavirus
Because the Coronavirus is much more infectious than seasonal colds and flu, it needs treating more carefully when you’re getting rid of it.
Killing viruses by cleaning
You can kill the virus by cleaning surfaces in your home. When you’re cleaning surfaces that might have the virus on it’s best to use a clean cloth, wear washing up gloves and use disinfectant or disinfectant wipes.
Disinfectant should contain at least 60% alcohol or 0.5% hydrogen peroxide bleach. Or you can use a household bleach with 0.1% sodium hypochlorite. The contents are usually written on the back of the bottle.
It can take up to 3 days (72 hours) for viruses to completely die on hard surfaces – such as cardboard, plastic or metal. This means that there may be viruses on things like Amazon parcels or jewellery that could still make someone ill days later.
If there are things that you can’t clean, can you put them somewhere out of the way for 3 days before you use them? If 3 days isn’t possible, then aim for as long as you can. As soon as the virus leaves our bodies it starts to die so even after 1 day it is much weaker than it was before.
Of course it’s not possible to leave everything for 3 days, so the other option is to clean hard surfaces with disinfectant. Fruit and vegetables should be washed in water and given a rub with your hands.
